News

Metro’s Regulatory Changes

IMPORTANT NOTICE: PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION LAW

ALERT: Registration renewal for DIR’s Contractor Database is now open. The registration fee is $400. Contractors now have the option to register for up to three fiscal years at a time. The Labor Commissioner may assess penalties of up to $8,000, in addition to the registration fee, for failure to register or renew while working on a public works contract.

State law requires contractors to register using the California Department of Industrial Relation’s (DIR) online application before bidding on public works contracts. Applications and renewals are to be completed online with a non-refundable annual fee of $400. The application also gives agencies that administer public works programs a searchable database of qualified contractors.

No contractor/subcontractor may be listed on a new bid/proposal for work on a Metro public works project unless registered. No contractor/subcontractor may be awarded a new contract for work on a Metro public works project unless registered with the DIR. All contractors on active Metro prevailing wage contracts must be registered with the DIR database. A contractor that hires an unregistered subcontractor is also subject to penalties of up to $10,000.

Small Project Exemption

Contractors who work exclusively on small public works projects are not required to register as a public works contractor or file electronic certified payroll reports for those projects. Contractors are still required to submit certified payroll to Metro via their online monitoring system. Also, contractors must provide certified payroll to the Labor Commissioner’s Office upon request. The small project exemption applies for all public works projects that do not exceed:

• $25,000 for new construction, alteration, installation, demolition or repair

Metro’s Proposed Medium-Size Business Enterprise Program

Metro’s Industry Forum: Transformation through Transportation

LA Metro held its first Industry Forum: Transformation Through Transportation on February 11, 2016 at the JW Marriott in downtown Los Angeles. It was attended by over 500 transportation leaders. View the materials presented at the forum.

New Construction Change Order Streamlining Initatives

In November 2014, Metro's Board approved a set of construction change order streamlining initiatives that will reduce the amount of time needed to complete the approval and negotiation process associated with individual construction change orders. The new Metro policy and adopted procedures sets a goal of 60 days for the timely processing of all construction change orders to minimize costs and risks to contractors and subcontractors.

The new streamlined process establishes clear roles and responsibilities for Metro and its construction contractors to improve the time needed to define scopes of work, submit contractor proposals, estimate change order costs, fact find and negotiate. The new process also identifies methods for addressing change order disputes in a manner that will minimize the impact to contractors and their subcontractors.

Metro construction project staff is currently undergoing training on the new procedures and will be meeting with their construction contractors to coordinate and implement the new processes.

Following the application of the new change order procedures, Metro will convene a construction contractor forum with key construction contractors and subcontractors to discuss ways to implement prompt payment reforms to the change order process to fully eliminate risks and cost impacts to the contractor and subcontractor community.

V/CM Insider

The Metro Vendor/Contract Management Insider is our bi-monthly newsletter that connect the business community to the latest Metro opportunities, services, programs, and guidelines for working with us.